Russia's Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Republican Senator Lindsey Graham over comments he made related to the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office released an edited video of his meeting with Graham on Friday, in which the senator is heard saying "the Russians are dying" and describing the military aid the U.S. provides to Ukraine as "the best money we've ever spent."
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on May 16, 2023, in Washington, D.C.Bloomberg via Getty Images
Although Graham appeared to have made the comments in different parts of the conversation, the Ukrainian government edited them and put one fragment after another, giving the impression that they were said at the same moment, which provoked the indignation of the Russian authorities.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday that "it is hard to imagine a greater embarrassment for the country than to have senators like that."
The Interior Ministry's decision to issue an arrest warrant in its official register of wanted criminal suspects was announced after news broke that the Investigative Committee, Russia's main criminal investigation agency, decided to open a criminal investigation against the Republican senator.
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The war in Ukraine, which broke out in February 2022, has further strained relations between the United States and Russia, and has united the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, better known as NATO, in the face of the threat that the conflict may pose to the countries that are part of the alliance and that share a border with Russia.
The Joe Biden administration has approved billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine, such as Abrams tanks or Patriot missile defense systems, but has tried to limit its use to the defense of Ukrainian territory by avoiding attacks on Russian soil that could be used as a reason for Russia to escalate the war.
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But in recent days it has tried to distance itself from the incursion into Russian territory of pro-Ukrainian fighters who allegedly used Pentagon military equipment in their attack.
A video released by the Russian Defense Ministry and verified by NBC News shows American-made Humvees and MRAP armored vehicles at a Russian border checkpoint.
Asked about the footage, U.S. officials said they were closely following the reports. "It's something we're watching closely," said Gen. Pat Ryder, a Defense Department spokesman. "I don't know if it's true or not, in terms of the veracity of the images," he added. The United States, he said, has not authorized Ukraine to hand over this equipment to anyone else, and said Ukraine has not requested permission.
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"We are skeptical about the veracity of these reports," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Both stressed that the U.S. does not "encourage or permit attacks in Russia," Miller said. "But, as we have also said, it is up to Ukraine to decide how to conduct this war," he said.
The warning is part of a broader debate in the West over how much military support to give Ukraine without provoking a direct war with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"It's no secret to us that more and more equipment is being supplied" to Ukraine, Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week. And "it's no secret that this equipment is used against our military," he added.
